Finale Finish

I like tv, a lot. So I've decided to rate the season finales of the 2005-2006 season; only for the shows that I watch though (that's only fair). This year seems to be the season of the 2 hour finale. It's too big and there's just too much to fit into one hour. Oh, please, it's just an excuse for them to drag it out even longer. They could fit everything into one hour if they tried. So here goes, I'll grade the finales of some of tv hottest shows.

Fade to Grey:

The second season of Grey's Anatomy, the hospital tv show with more coupling than a porno, featured surgeon Isabel's beloved heart transplant patient, Denny, dying of a stroke. Who says tv isn't ironic? After which she quit the hospital and walked off into the sunset. Razor sharp Cristina was seen showing a much softer side as she attended to her beloved, Dr. Burke, who was recovering from a gunshot wound. And as for the titular character, Meredith Grey, she was forced to choose between the dreamboat vet and Dr. McDreamy himself as they both called her name hoping to be chosen.

My prediction: Isabel is gone and the show will pick up some months later with Grey having chosen neither guy and quit medicine to live as a cloistered nun. Actually, that last part is made up but I am hoping she remains on her own without a man; at least for a while. Grade: B

Break Out:

The show Prison Break hit the ground running last August and had lots of promise and the ratings to make it a hit. The premise: A man, Lincoln Burrows, is on death row facing his last days and his little brother, Michael Scofield, robs a bank to end up in the same prison as his condemned brother. Why? Linc is innocent and Michael is going to break him out. The conspiracy stretches all the way to the White House. Despite the convoluted plot: I'm still not clear why the "murdered" man's death was faked or what was up with that whole energy deal, this show was the one to watch in the fall. Fast forward to Nov and the show is taken off the air for four months. When it returned this past March the show had lost some of its steam and the writers put in more twists and turns and dead ends than that maze in The Shining. The brothers did finally escape and Veronica, Lincoln's former girlfriend who has been trying to prove his innocence in the outside world, came face to face with the man that Linc supposedly murdered. That was, by far, the best scene of the episode. The cliffhanger, however, with the brothers, and a few other inmates, running through an open field with the cops right behind, was ridiculous. After their only form of transportation literally flies away in the sky, the cons are forced to run. Seriously, the chances of them getting away are very very slim. Having said that this is a tv show and we all know how art doesn't always imitate life.

My prediction: One of the runners will be caught and Veronica won't be sharing her find with anyone, at least not anytime soon. Grade: C

Barely Legal:

The second season of Boston Legal, the David E. Kelley (Picket Fences, Ally McBeal) comedy-drama, came to a close with nary a cliffhanger; except for wondering if the show will be back in the fall. I started watching this show when it first premiered and then dropped it because I had too many shows and then picked it up for a while when Candice Bergen started as no-nonsense Shirley Schmidt. The writing is still tongue-in-cheek and the banter between Bergen's Schmidt and William Shatner's Denny Crane is fun to watch. Parker Posey is also interesting as an acerbic lawyer hoping to make partner. Posey seems to do the same character over and over but switches it up just enough to keep it fresh. James Spader's unctuously slimy Alan Shore was the centerpiece of the show when it started and now it's an ensemble that aims to entertain.

My prediction: The show will be back with more outrageous, yet true to life, cases. Grade: C+

Just Surviving:

The show with backstabbing, two-faced players, and grueling immunity challenges, Survivor, this time set at Exile Island (Panama provided the backdrop), wrapped its 12 installment. Survivor: Exile Island started out very ho-hum and didn't get really interesting until the big merge. One twist which was nice was one player was always banished to the titular island where the only consolation was to find an immunity idol which could be played and save the person who found it from being voted out if they had the most votes. It would have been really neat if heman, fighter pilot Terry had not found it and then won all of the immunity challenges and end up not needing to use it. With whackos Courtney and Shane life on the island was rarely too boring. The final two were medical sales rep Danielle (the least deserving of the final four) and yoga instructor Aras. Aras, one of the more likable males, took the money but a more riveting showdown would have been between Aras and nurse Cirie, arguably the most likable female. Thankfully, exile island will be back for the next go round which will be on Cook Island, between Hawaii and New Zealand.

Prediction: More colorful characters for the lucky #13 and Survivor better start thinking of some really shocking twists to keep the game exciting. Grade: C+

Space Invaders:

The tv show Invasion, from Shaun Cassidy, the creator of American Gothic and half brother of David, just finished its freshman season and was beset with controversy from the get go. Set to air last year, right after Hurricane Katrina, the show didn't get off to a good start. The show featured a Florida town hit by a devastating hurricane and the aftermath of the storm. Some people changed, not for the better, and the water became as scary as it was back in the days of Jaws. Seems some alien life forms were inhabiting the bodies of humans to create a hybrid species and the town sheriff may or may not be a bad guy. Eddie Cibrian from Third Watch played Russ, a park ranger, who is married to a local reporter. In an exciting twist, the finale featured another hurricane and this time an evil mad-scientist alien threatened to have aliens inhabit more people in a scene reminiscent of the Nazi death camps. Also the pregnant reporter is fatally shot and the sheriff does the only thing he can to save her; put her in the water. Her husband arrives too late. The show suffered from erratic scheduling and a plodding storyline, although it was a nice companion piece to Lost.

Prediction: The show does not appear to be on the fall schedule. Yikes! Grade: C+

Dem Bones:

Another show that just finished its freshman run, Bones, features David Boreanaz, as Special FBI agent Booth, and Emily Deschanel, as Dr. Brennan a forensic anthropologist. She studies bones to figure out who people were and how they died and he puts the bad guys away. The chemistry between the two lead characters is good and hopefully it will get hotter. The finale featured the revelation of what happened to Brennan's mom when she was 15 and the fact that she is not who she thought she was. And, in a final twist, it's discovered that Brennan's dad is NOT dead.

Prediction: More digging and delving in the second season and Booth and Brennan share a passionate kiss. Grade: B

Desperate situation:

The second season of the primetime soap Desperate Housewives found Bree escaping from the mental institution she checked herself into; Susan divorced Carl (again); Lynette made steps to reconcile with Tom after discovering he fathered another child (or did he? We've yet to see the child); Gabrielle threw Carlos out after discovering he was sleeping with their maid, who's pregnant with their child and we got to see how the housewives met. The second season ended similarly to the first. In the first season ender Mike, the plumber, was walking into the door of his house where Zach was holding a gun on Susan and this season found Mike lying in the street after being run down by dentist Orson Hodge. Hodge is set to figure in next season's mystery. Meanwhile, Susan is waiting for Mike so she can propose to him and Hodge appears to be courting Bree, whom he met in the mental hospital. The mystery of the Applewhites was cleared up when it was discovered that Betty's son Matthew, and not Caleb, was responsible for the murder of the girl in their mystery.

Prediction: Mike will die causing Susan to move on and get her life going again; a better mystery (hopefully) and a stronger season. Verdict: C

Getting Cold:

The third season ender of Cold Case found the detectives investigating the death of a drug rehab counselor who saw a resident kill another resident. The resident who was killed discovered the murderer having an affair with one of the owner's of the rehab center. Who killed the counselor? Lilly is quite taken with the picture of the counselor and then discovers that he is alive and lies to her boss about it. So, if he is not dead, who died? The counselor's junkie brother who was shot by the owner-wife's husband. In the end, we see Lilly and the counselor seeming to hook up and the other detectives sitting around celebrating another case solved but minus Lilly. Is this the end for her?

Prediction: Lilly will be back and more hot cold cases. Verdict: B

Also Known As:

The fifth and final season of Alias wrapped up with the gang chasing after Sloane, naturally. The present was interspersed with flashbacks of Sydney's childhood; those were really nice scenes. Among the people who perished are Jack (Sydney's father), Irina (Sydney's mother), Dan (Balthazar Getty's character) and Sloane was banished underground; literally. After cheating death, in a lame plot twist, he was caught in the explosion Jack set off in an underground tunnel and ended up under a large boulder. The episode ended with a flash forward to the future as we see Vaughn and Sydney living by the beach (in a very remote location) with their second child and Dixon comes with an assignment for them (get Sark!). Meanwhile, Sydney's first child Isabel, displays a propensity for complex puzzles the same way her mother did when she herself was a child. A future Sydney? Look out CIA. One thing I will definitely miss is the character of Marshall; his rambling explanations were always worth a laugh.

Verdict: B-

Another day:

The fifth season of 24, the 2nd best season so far (the best goes to last season's story), wrapped up and it looked like the President was going to get away with murder, terrorist attacks, and conspiracy; yeah, right. It started with the deaths of former president Palmer and the death of Michelle Dessler, and later Tony Almeida. Jack eventually kidnapped the President but failed to get a confession; he got one later and what a doozy it was. The season finale also saw the appearance of Chloe's ex-husband and, in true 24 fashion, a twist at the very end. It seems the Chinese government finally caught up with Jack and have some big plans for him. What those plans are and what will happen will have to wait until Jan. 2007, when season six kicks off.

Prediction: More new characters, intrigue, bigger plot twists, and, yes, Jack. Verdict: A

Idol Singers:

Season 5 of American Idol is over and the new season won't start until January; they always start in January. I was wondering how on earth they could stretch out the final show for two hours but then I remembered Mr. and-the-results-of-the-vote-are....going to be shown after this Seacrest. He certainly likes to draw out the suspense. Anyway, since this is the first season of Idol I've seen, I don't have anything to compare it to. I was shocked when powerhouse belter Mandisa was voted out early in the competition and when Elliott, the smooth crooner who got better and better toward the end, was voted out and just missed the final two, I was disappointed. I liked Katherine and Taylor, however, I was rooting for Elliott; he was the underdog. When, on the penultimate episode, the final two contestants sang the songs that would potentially become their first single, I knew that Taylor probably had it in the bag. His song was uplifting and inspirational and had a nice sound. Katherine sang her song well but it was trite. The finale featured the singing talents of Prince, Dionne Warwick, Mary J. Blige, Live, Al Jarreau, Meat Loaf, and Toni Braxton. Also featured were Wolfgang Puck and Burt Bacharach. During the show, some awards were given out and the nominees were some of the more colorful (read: awful) contestants who didn't make the cut during auditions. One winner, who was so overtly trying to copy the look of season two runner-up Clay Aiken, got a surprise after he received his award and was actually invited to sing. The real Aiken showed up and eclipsed his voice; thankfully. They even featured the three cowboys and the "trailer" for Brokenote Mountain. Another highlight was the sight of a teary-eyed David Hasslehoff in the audience after the winner was revealed; also shown was Tim McGraw (no Faith though). Sixty-three point four million votes were counted for the final vote that saw Alabama man Taylor Hicks beat out California girl Katherine McPhee. No worries though as I will be surprised if she is not on the charts soon. His single should be a chart burner as well.

Prediction: A #1 hit for Taylor and major withdrawal for me. Verdict: A

In the House:

The final episode of season 2 of House was one of the most surreal episodes to date. House is shot and ends up being able to walk cane-free and having deep, philosophical conversations with his shooter and finds himself losing his knowledge as he works on a case with his team. It's one of the more bizarre ones the series has featured. One of the patient's eyes and testicles pops out and his tongue is so swollen it protrudes from his mouth. The end is a twist that explains the whole is-he-hallucinating-and-losing-his-mind episode. When it's revealed the whole thing played in his head and we see him wheeled into the hospital emergency room, the question doesn't become will he change but how will he change?

Prediction: The show is called House so the chances of the doc dying are slim to nil, however, he will be affected by the shooting and it should make for some interesting changes to Dr. H. But will he be able to walk cane-free the way he did in his mind? Verdict: A

Ungraceful Exit:

I stopped watching Will & Grace after the 4th season because it wasn't funny; Jack was way too stereotypical (and not funny) and Karen was shrill and mean (and not funny), while Will & Grace's relationship bordered on unhealthy (and was not funny). The 8th and final season (thank God) wrapped up and the foursome is no more. The episode did have one semi-humorous part; the beginning in which we see senior citizen Will & Grace raising Grace's son. Graces has an ass bigger than Texas and Will wears a toupee. Jack, meanwhile, is tan and fit (and married to Kevin Bacon) and Karen looks the same as she always did (and is married to Rosario). Also in the episode, Will & Grace are dealing with the fact that their relationship has forever changed and Karen loses all of her money. One highlight is character actor Leslie Jordan plays billionaire Beverly Leslie and is literally swept away.

Verdict: Good Riddance! D+

Lost World:

The writers outdid themselves with the second season Finale of Lost; not a huge feat considering last year's lame "they just opened the hatch door" finale. Desmond's backstory was featured, the others let Michael & Walt sail off (presumably off the island to be rescued), the others kidnapped Sawyer, Jack, and Kate and told Hurley no one can come get them, the hatch seems to have exploded, the reason the plane crashed was explained (an electromagnetic force) and Locke and Eko are possibly dead after the explosion.

Prediction: This show can only last 2, possibly 3, more seasons before its welcome is worn out. Next season has to be riveting and exciting. And where are Jin, Sun, and Sayid? They were on a mission to rescue Hurley, Sawyer, Jack, and Kate. Will Michael really flee the island? I say no. Otherwise why wouldn't he tell people about the others stranded there? I think Kate, Jack, and Sawyer will be rescued or escape but not before being brainwashed or something. Verdict: A